2025 will be a very important year for Novak Djokovic's future. A legend of his caliber has the duty to try to win another Grand Slam title, but it will not be easy at all. The Serbian champion has not won a Major title since the 2023 US Open, he is almost 38 years old and has to face opponents much younger than him.
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The former world number 1 showed some cracks in 2024, in which only the triumph at the Paris Olympics during the summer saved a fairly disappointing season. The 37-year-old from Belgrade has repeatedly lost to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz who have become the new references on the men's tour and has struggled to find the right motivations in second-tier tournaments.
It is no coincidence that the 24-time Grand Slam champion has decided to skip the last official tournaments of 2024 the Rolex Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin to focus on next season. While the Davis Cup Finals were being played in Malaga, Nole left the whole world speechless by announcing that he had hired Andy Murray as his new coach for the 2025 Australian Open.
The former Scottish champion will be alongside Novak at Melbourne Park, where the Serbian legend has triumphed ten times in his glorious career and where he hopes to shine again. The 2025 AO will begin on January 12, and Djokovic will participate in the Brisbane International as his first official tournament in the new season.
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A strong message
The current world number 7 has sent a clear message to all his rivals through his choice to hire Murray. Despite being almost 38 years old, tennis is still a priority for him and he will do everything he can to write a new page in the history of this sport.
In a long interview with Tennis Channel, American ace Chris Eubanks discussed Djokovics current status: I love the hire. At this stage in his career, Novak doesnt need anyone tinkering or making adjustments on the forehand or the backhand.
I think its so cool to have someone who has been in a similar position although Andy did not amass the titles or Grand Slams that Novak has. But he has been in a similar situation.
Eubanks continued: He has been in the middle to end of his career, still finding ways to make adjustments and improvements to compete with the younger generation of really good players. And I think Murray sees the game unlike anyone else on tour.
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I have had the chance to sit and listen to him talk about tennis and its truly a pleasure to hear how his mind works about the game. I am excited to see what he brings to the table.
Murray is a voice that Novak will obviously respect, he is a player who has competed against him and been good friends with him, they have a great long standing relationship. I am excited to see how it goes.
Less pressure
There is no doubt that this choice of Nole surprised everyone, because Murray retired from professional tennis only a few months ago and has no experience as a coach. The 3-time Grand Slam champion should not have too invasive an impact on Novak's team, but will probably limit himself to giving him the right advice in the decisive moments of the various matches.
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These two legends know each other very well off the court, grew up together and have always maintained a great relationship despite their fierce rivalry on court. It is strange to think that Djokovic will be helped to win the Australian Open again by a former champion who lost four finals in Melbourne against him.
For the first time in his career, the champion from Belgrade will not be the top favorite in Australia and will be able to play with a little less pressure. All his rivals are warned.
During an interview with Sky Sports, the Serbian ace explained his decision to hire Andy: So I took about six months to really think about if I needed a coach and if yes, who that's going to be and the profile of the coach.
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I realized that the perfect coach for me at this point would be someone that has been through the experiences that I'm going through. Possibly a multiple grand slam winner and former number one.
I was thinking about different people and then Andy Murray, . 'okay, I'm going to give him a call and see how it goes' and it caught him a little bit off guard as well, because he wasn't expecting it.
